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As Dave has already said – this has come around quickly. A little bit too quickly I think, but then is there ever a good time to ride your bike for 24 hours straight?

I’m a bit out of practice with this sort of thing, to be honest. I’ve competed in 24 hour races more regularly than most for the last couple of years however this will be the first one since Relentless24 last October. Oh well, I reckon I’ll soon be back in the swing of things after half a lap or so. It’s not like I’ve been sat on my backside for the best part of 8 months, is it?

The weather looks like it might be in a bit of a mood so compared to the blistering heat of last year -which I seem to remember I quite enjoyed- this one will be more like a ‘regular’ UK race. Wet, windy, thundery and a nice shade of Menacing Grey. The field looks as strong as ever with all the best UK endurance riders on the start list plus a large number of riders also taking part in the simultaneous 12 hour race (12 Hours of Exposure/UK 12 Hour Championships/European 12 Hour Championships….etc) How many (other) 24 hour racers will be trying to beat as many 12 hour racers as possible for the first half I wonder?

I’m looking forward to catching up with a few regulars before everyone starts to hurt each other anyway.

Finally, to add an extra level of difficulty, I have a cold. Not just a poxy man-flu thing either. A proper ‘streamer’. I’ve also got a cough as a bonus, so I’ve been sleeping sat up, which seems to help for some reason. I can’t even bloody drop out, given Dave set the precedent in January and pressed on with the Strathpuffer when he was full of cold and still came 2nd….

If you do Twitter, follow @fastfarrell . If he’s got a mobile signal, Wayne, the Team JMC / Ragley pit maestro, will more than likely be tweeting race updates as things go on, providing we keep the mechanicals to a minimum. 🙂